The Holy See’s press office reported on January 25 that Pope Francis had appointed nine new members to the Pontifical Biblical Commission, including two women.
First, the Holy Father appointed the Spanish priest Andrés María García Serrano, Who is currently a professor of New Testament at the Ecclesiastical University of San Dámaso in Madrid (Spain).
In addition, the Pope appointed P. Marcin Kowalski, professor of New Testament at the Catholic University of Lublin (Poland), in P. Blažej Štrba, Professor at Comenius University in Bratislava, Badin (Slovakia) and at P. Philippe Lefebvre, OP, Professor of Old Testament at the University of Freiburg (Switzerland).
Likewise, 3 current professors of the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome will be members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission: Fr. Federico Giuntoli, Old Testament Professor; the P. Paul Béré, SI (Burkina Faso) and P. Henry Pattarumadathil, YES, (India).
Later, the Pope also appointed two lay teachers: Bénédicte Lemmelijn, Professor of Old Testament at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) i Maria Armida Nicolaci, Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology of Sicily San Giovanni Evangelista, Palermo (Italy).
The Pontifical Biblical Commission is presided over by the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who is assisted by a vice-president (secretary).
The members of the Biblical Commission, including the secretary, are appointed by the Holy Father, on the proposal of Cardinal President, for a renewable five-year term.
The body now known as the Pontifical Biblical Commission was formed by Leo XIII with the apostolic letter “Vigilantiae studique” of October 30, 1902.
At that time, the Holy Father assigned the new institution a threefold function: to effectively promote Bible study among Catholics; to contrast with the scientific means the erroneous opinions in the matter of Sacred Scripture; study and illuminate debated issues and emerging issues in the biblical field.